History of Rap Music
Before people can judge or condemn rap music, they must know the origins of rap and where it came from. James McBride, a known journalist for his works in The New York Times, published in his National Geographic article “Hip Hop Planet” that spoken word music came to the United States from African tribes turned slaves centuries ago. It was not called Rap or Hip Hop until the 70’s during a black movement when a group called The Last Poets arose, and started “rapping” about black power with one of their songs named “Niggers are Scared of Revolution”. (McBride, 2007) The music that was created by these groups had a meaning behind it because rap’s origins were very expressive. If I relate that 70’s rap to Tupac’s raps, they have a similar trait, struggles within society.
After The Last Poets, rap started to take off. McBride gives examples of popular artists throughout the decades. In the 80’s artists like Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash became big, but then the music started shifting towards gangsta rap in the 90’s with artists like Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and O’ Shea Jackson (Ice Cube). (McBride, 2007) Today’s rap consists of artists like Tyga, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. This is when the meaning of rap shifted. In the 90’s with Tupac and Biggie, there were subliminal messages and meanings within their lyrics talking about social struggles, but the newer rap music has put a burden on the concept of rap with sexism, misogyny, and crime related lyrics simply to sell records. We cannot forget that rap started with social messages within their lyrics, which should be why we cannot condemn rap for being unhealthy for people, especially adolescents.
After The Last Poets, rap started to take off. McBride gives examples of popular artists throughout the decades. In the 80’s artists like Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash became big, but then the music started shifting towards gangsta rap in the 90’s with artists like Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, and O’ Shea Jackson (Ice Cube). (McBride, 2007) Today’s rap consists of artists like Tyga, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. This is when the meaning of rap shifted. In the 90’s with Tupac and Biggie, there were subliminal messages and meanings within their lyrics talking about social struggles, but the newer rap music has put a burden on the concept of rap with sexism, misogyny, and crime related lyrics simply to sell records. We cannot forget that rap started with social messages within their lyrics, which should be why we cannot condemn rap for being unhealthy for people, especially adolescents.